Spreading the Love-Of-Reading Virus IRA Talk

Sunday, May 11, 2014

“To
create a community of engaged readers, peers,
not teachers, are more influential.”
(Tweet from #IRA14)

I’ll be sharing
a quick talk today at IRA in New Orleans on promoting a love of reading in
students. As teachers, we naturally do a
ton of things every day to achieve this goal:
we give book talks, we read aloud with expression and passion several
times a day (and cry every year at the end of Stone Fox), we carefully
create libraries that draw readers in and are the heart of our classrooms. But, today, I’ve chosen to focus on how the students themselves can inspire one
another to read with passion and vibrancy.
They are one another's most powerful force—students are drawn into each other's reading lives if we give them time to talk while honoring their
voices, preferences, noticings, and wonderings.
If we highlight their thinking, if we promote their sharing, a love-of-reading-virus will spread from student to student and, believe me, once the
talking starts and the excitement around reading wells up, the virus can’t be
stopped!

Here’s a quick
list of some of the strategies I’ll cover today. 1. Buzz Groups (Steven Layne talks about this in his book Igniting a Passion for Reading):
Several times a week, students meet for ten minutes to share what’s
catching their attention in the books they are currently reading. You can form groups or allow students to
create their own. They can share
annotations to let other readers in on their thinking (they love using sticky
notes to interact with the texts). I
like to keep the talk in these groups open-ended, and listen in to see what’s ‘trending’
around their self-selected reading at any given time. As I listen, I come across thinking I want to
highlight in class lessons and I discover areas where I might push thinking
forward. I sometimes also assign a ‘focus’
for their sharing depending on what aspect of reading we’re studying.

2. “The Golden Easel:” Students can nominate books
to be featured on the golden easel—a special place of honor for books. Readers who nominate books can add sticky notes to the covers, briefly sharing why they want to inspire other
readers to read them. Then, those who are interested
can write their names on sticky tabs and put them on the books. Viola!
A list of readers waiting for a title!...A bunch of readers making plans for their
reading! (Hint, place the ‘golden easel’
in high traffic areas, by the sink, for example. Students are washing and find themselves
cleverly drawn into a book commercial!)

3. Plastic Document Holders: Love this strategy! Again, place these strategically around the
classroom (I like to have several by our door, so as students are waiting, they
are once again drawn into reading one another's thoughts about notable books).
Since they are clear, the COVERS of books are easily visible. Readers can add their
thoughts on sticky notes along the bottom of the holders, and peers can comment
on the sides. I found the plastic holders at OfficeMax (they also come in sets of 3 attached holders, but I prefer the single ones so book covers have more visibility).

4. Glorious Plastic Frames: “Pllllllllleeeeeeaaaaase, Ms. Wag., can I
create something about this book and put it in a plastic frame?” Students love this! Like the ‘golden easel,’
the plastic frames are special forums for sharing one’s excitement about particular
titles. Since they are free-standing,
they can be placed anywhere (hint, hint, again, clever placement in high
traffic ‘wait’ areas guarantees more exposure and potentially more infectious
virus-spreading). We also like to place
these in the library (with the book standing alongside) to spread the infection
school-wide.

5. “I Just HAVE
TO Share” Parking Lot: This is a
poster where students can place sticky notes about things they simply MUST share with classmates. When there are a few seconds here and there
in a day, I have the student retrieve the note and share what must be
said! If I find we’re getting flooded
with notes, I allow students a minute or two to come up, grab their note, find
a buddy or group and share OR I simply tell them to take their note to lunch
and share it with other readers!

6. “Reading Graffiti:” Donalyn Miller talks about
this in her most recent book. In my
classroom, I like to give students a spot for their graffiti, but instead of
writing right on the bulletin board, they post sticky notes so they can keep
their notations fresh. They keep ‘old’
graffiti in a spiral notebook. (It’s interesting to see how their thoughts about
books develop over time—great stuff to spark thoughtful conversations about how
we’re growing as readers!)

7. “Hello!
My book is…” labels: You know
these labels, the ones you get when you go to a meeting, “Hello my name is…”
(or use the blank versions). These can
be used in a myriad of ways. One of my
favorites is this: after a student has given a book talk, s/he will wear the label on
their shirt for the day (cross out 'my name is,' replace with 'my book is') to inspire readers outside our classroom to ask about
the book! Another idea: have the student put a favorite quote on the label to inspire questions about what s/he's reading.

8. Televised book talks: Many teachers record their students giving
books talks. Take it one step
further: televise them! A TV strategically placed near the lunch line,
where book talks are broadcast, can go a long way toward creating a culture of
reading in a school. Plus, students feel
so empowered: their reading lives are
potentially affecting the reading lives of countless peers!

There are many other ideas we
could note. Think about the amount
of talk that might happen, the number of books students are exposed to, and the
positive energy these ideas generate around the act of reading. When visitors walk into a classroom that is
flooded with books and genuine talk about books, they know reading isn’t just a
priority, it’s a passion. Who knows,
maybe they’ll stay awhile and get infected, too!

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HELLO

I'm a full-time K-6 literacy coach in a Title I school. I've taught for almost 30 years in different parts of the country. I love learning every day alongside teachers and students. My passion for literacy teaching has led me to write a number of books for teachers on literacy practice, including the picture book series: STELLA WRITES. When I'm not teaching or writing, I love to present, consult and collaborate with other passionate educators across the nation. I'm also 'MOM' to one overly energetic young boy!